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Friday, March 12, 2010

Tortilla Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Our weather turned damp and chilly again today. As luck would have it, Bob and I were walking along the river when it began to pour. We were at the mid-point of the trail, so our options were limited and the only certainty was we'd be drenched before we got back to the car. Spring comes early to Oregon. I retire my winter recipes and restock the pantry and freezer at the end of February and move on to lighter and more colorful meals. Days like this one make me wish I still had a soup or stew hidden away. What I did have were the ingredients for a wonderful tortilla soup developed, years ago, by Martha Holmberg for Fine Cooking magazine. The soup is wonderfully warm and filling, but the spice level is very low. If you like your tortilla soup hot and spicy, you'll have to add more chili powder or use one that has more heat. The broth that is poured over the ingredients must be very hot in order to warm them. While the recipe is scaled to feed two, it can easily be doubled or tripled to feed a crowd. You can also swap beef for the chicken that's used in the soup. It does not keep well, so don't make more than can be eaten in one meal. Here's the recipe.Chicken and Tortilla Soup...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Martha Holmberg and Fine Cooking magazine

Directions:1) Place 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan or small soup pot, add onion, and cook over medium heat until onion has softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add chili powder and tomato paste and stir with a wooden spoon to mix and cook briefly; take care not to let the chili powder scorch.2) Season chicken thighs lightly with salt and put them in skillet with chile paste, turning them once so they’re entirely coated. Add 1/2 cup broth and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook chicken, turning once, until it’s extremely tender when pierced with a knife, about 20 to 30 minutes. Add more broth if pan dries out.Remove chicken from pan and allow it to cool slightly before shredding into bite size pieces. Set aside.3) Remove any visible grease from pan before adding remaining broth and cilantro stems. Simmer, uncovered, until broth has reduced by about one-third and is quite flavorful, 20 to 30 minutes.4) Meanwhile, fry the tortillas: Line a plate with two layers of paper towels. Fill a small, high-sided saucepan with enough oil to come to about a 1-inch depth. Heat oil over medium heat to 375 degrees F. Add six to eight strips of tortilla. With tongs or a long fork, "scrunch" them for a second or two so they take on a wavy shape. Fry until strips are golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to paper towels. Repeat with remaining strips.5) Divide shredded chicken, corn, black beans, tomato, and tortilla strips between two large soup or pasta bowls. Pour hot broth over ingredients in bowls. Serve immediately. Pass avocado, cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro and lime at the table. Yield: 2 servings.

Ah, March -- one day is food from the grill and the next is a rib sticking winter meal. This looks like a good soup for when the weather turns and it's too wet to grill! Love simmering the broth with the cilantro -- gives it much flavor!

I love Tortilla soup. I order it every chance I get. I will have to give this one a try. This soup is perfect anytime of the year. Thanks for the perfect recipe. It has everything that is in the tortilla soups I order out.

I love your spicy soup..I didnt prepare lots of soups this winter.. Living in Northern Ontario where we will be still covered in snow... this year, we did not... the snow is melting the temp is around +11 compare to -5.we had a very mild season this year...the climate is changing.

Hi, Mary. I have been wanting to make Tortilla Soup since I enjoyed it on a trip to Texas a while back and recently saw it in a cookbook. This looks fabulous!! Thanks for visiting my blog and, please, come back often!!

Thanks for stopping by the other day and leaving such a lovely comment. Sorry it took me so long to come by, but have been having major drama with my blog.This is one yummy looking soup. I am not normally a soup person but this just looks so hearty and full of good stuff. Have a wonderful weekend daaaaahling!*kisses* HH

I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for the visit and the nice compliment. I feel so silly....I live in Los Angeles and grew up on mexican food and restaurants yet I have never had tortilla soup. Most of them that I've seen show soggy stuff but this soup you have here looks wonderful and delish! I will give this a try. I'm sure the family would enjoy it!

Its getting real warm here in my part of the world,today we had to shut the whole home ,coz it was really very hot and humid and it aint like i like sitting or cooking in the aircon the whole day....love fresh air but not when its so so hot-looks like a hot wave around here and right in March...Wish it were a cold wave ...lol.....Still i would love to finish off this bowl of soup coz its simply deliciously delicious...Happy day to ya Mary.......

This has got to be one of my very favorites soups of all time. I've been craving this. I have a tried and true that I make, but your version would be fun to play with. My neck of Northern California has been completely unpredictable, too. One day, it feels like spring. Today, we are expecting heavy rain.I grilled two days ago, and now it's soup weather.

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